Indian rupee is up - UAE banks, fintechs rush in with zero fees on 'limited time' money transfers home

Dubai: Banks and remittance platforms are offering ‘zero fees’ promotions targeted at Indian expats in the UAE planning to send their next monthly funds. The promotions are timed to ease doubts among some NRIs on when to send after the Indian rupee again firmed up against the dirham/dollar.

The INR is at 23.38 to one dirham right now, and a further firming up from the 23.43 at which it closed yesterday. On Monday, the INR was sitting ‘comfortably’ from an NRI perspective at 23.53 to a dirham.

The firming up of the rupee comes as the dollar kept trending lower over renewed investor worries over where the US economy and President’s tariff threats are heading next. Plus, there is also the prospect of a July interest rate cut, and which could mean further tightening up for the dollar.

This is why any free money transfer offers from banks or remittance platforms in the next few days would be quite handy for Indian expats. Depending on which platform is being used, the savings could be from Dh5-Dh20, according to Neelesh Gopalan, Treasury Manager at a Dubai remittance fintech.  

If the dollar drops further, the INR could be looking to end June at more or less the same levels it started the month. In the first two weeks, the INR to dirham was between 23.22 to 23.38.

For the record, the highest point for the INR to dirham this year was the 22.92 on May 5. (The lowest point in 2025 was the 23.94 on February 10.)

"The rupee's softening last week and this Monday was a knee-jerk reaction to the Israel-Iran war tensions," said Subramanian Sharma, Promoter-Director of Greenback Advisory Services. "Once the Ceasefire comes into force, the INR could appreciate back.

"My forecast is that with the overall economic health of India remaining robust, FII inflows is likely to remain strong in the medium term, thus supporting the rupee."